Yeehaw, we're having a grand ol' time up here. Time for the round-up.
As far as Rick Bell is concerned, the most biggest news story has nothing to do with Harper promising to leave Afghanistan entirely by 2011 or allowing the Green Party (a federal party supported by more people than the Bloc) a voice at the leadership debates, or the discovery that the Cons promises during this election add up to $8 million an hour so far (and no real explanation where they are going to pay for it). Nope, it's the election promise of non-expiring gift cards.
James Travers
It's that leap of faith Harper warns against at every campaign stop. Using the same fear tactics Liberals used so successfully against his Reform and Alliance predecessors, Harper presents Dion as a risk, himself as the steady status quo.
Along with a you-gotta-be-kidding makeover as the guy next door, Harper is also misrepresenting a transformational, well right-of-centre government as the cautious agent of incremental change. A narrow example of a broader technique is his promise to trim a couple of cents off the federal excise tax on diesel. Harper's message delivered in Winnipeg this week emphasized, over and over, the plan's modesty. The not so subliminal message is that Conservatives are doing what's possible to help consumers while Liberals would, as the Prime Minister repeatedly puts it, raise taxes on everything.
Tom Brodbeck demonstrates how entirely out of touch he is with this interweb thingy. First stating that a Facebook wall post is a blog quote and that all Facebook posts are inherently anonymous. He then concludes that the Greens clearly have no real support, to have voted consistently for the NDP you must have a membership with them, and the media are simply fools or in cohoots with the Liberals and Greens.
Greg Weston discusses the absolute disaster which is Dion's campaign.
It is the perfect backdrop for Stephane Dion to make a campaign announcement on education, drugs, apprenticeship programs, cellphone rates -- anything that will go with television footage of a crowd of high school kids.
Instead, Dion announces to 800 suddenly scrunchy faces that if elected, a Liberal government will hire more food inspectors.
Kerry Diotte discusses crooks and liars Canadian politicians and if we can regulate their lying.
The Democracy Watch man is also disgusted with media for not repeatedly asking a key question to federal politicians each time they make a promise: "Will you resign if you break an election promise?"
OK, I'll bite: I'll ask it by sending this column to all of the federal leaders. But I'm not holding my breath any politician will agree to a law that forces them to be honest.
Isn't that sad? It's no wonder so many people are cynical about politicians.
Times Colonist discusses the sad state of affairs which is BC provincial politics. Apparently, the sitting premier, Gordon Campbell, has so little initiative to do anything that he canceled the entire fall season of legislature and essentially locked the opposition out of the democratic process entirely.
Naheed Nenshi has one of the best lines ever written by an Alberta pundit.
In Alberta, it feels somewhat pointless to write about the federal election. We already know what's going to happen -- barring a meltdown, the Conservatives will retain all 28 seats in this province. If there is a meltdown, involving a scandal with Stephen Harper, Rahim Jaffer, a tub of Jell-o and a rhesus monkey, they'll win 27.
Ira Basen yearns for the days when politicians were honest, straightforward, and commonly went off message in talking to the media.
Timothy Garton Ash worries about the incoming tide of authoritarian capitalism.